Starblade for Sega CD
Review #12121
Starblade
It's too big to be a spacestation
Gameplay
Rail shooter with a fast cursor and more targets than you can possibly kill. The challenge is to hit those that will attack you and ignore the rest as much as possible. Holding down on any button gives you auto-fire but there's a pause between shots such that it's far better to mash. This gets old, of course. There are no other weapons or powerups, so just fire away for a few minutes.
Level Design
You're flying toward the Death Star...*reads notes*...Red Eye to destroy its core before it can blow up Yavin IV...or whatever the planet is called. The stages are long and full of variety in the enemy waves. I don't like how cluttered the screen is and the fact that so many unnecessary enemies appear. It feels so random and unsatisfying to have so many enemies I need to ignore. Also, there are only three stages. So, no replay value.
Theme
Shameless Star Wars ripoff. The monotone voiceovers and lack of music give this game a sad, empty feeling, despite the busyness on screen. It's like The Last Starfighter without a soundtrack.
Art Style
The vector graphics make good use of color and simply look better than all of the other FMV titles. It's admittedly somewhat sparse to modern eyes, and doesn't hold up when compared to the FX-powered games, but the vector polygons here look decent.
Audio
Zero music. At all. The least enthusiastic "guy in the chair" ever broadcasts useless radio chatter like he's ordering a pizza while falling sleep.
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